THE PLAYERS Championship DraftKings picks 2023: Best PGA DFS golf lineup

Breaking down THE PLAYERS Championship DraftKings picks for the week at TPC Sawgrass with top plays, top fades and building a PGA DFS golf lineup.

We’re heading to THE PLAYERS Championship this week and the trip to TPC Sawgrass presents us with another completely stacked field. We’ve performed well with our DraftKings PGA DFS golf picks recently in the designated events, so let’s keep that rolling.

Our lineup cashed last week with 450+ points in the DFS game, so we’re in a good spot. Now it’s time to head into THE PLAYERS Championship and really make some nice value selections, which are definitely there as pricing for the event on DraftKings came out early, meaning that some guys, by my estimation, are mispriced.

So let’s dive into THE PLAYERS Championship DraftKings picks for this week as we break down the top plays and fades for each pricing tier and then building our PGA DFS golf lineup for the week based on that information.

THE PLAYERS Championship DraftKings picks for PGA DFS lineups: Top Plays

$10,000: Rory McIlroy ($11,000) – Rory McIlroy is my pick again to win this week after finishing T2 at the API last week. He’s still the best in the field tee-to-green over the last 20 rounds and has a win here from back in 2019. Even if some other results have been mixed, he’s been so elite with his ball striking that even a decent putting week — not even great — could result in a runaway victory. Also Consider: Jon Rahm ($11,800), Scottie Scheffler ($10,600)

$9,000: Justin Thomas ($9,400) – There are positive signs for Justin Thomas forming as he’s gained more than six strokes ball striking in two of his last three starts. That’s the DNA I want to see from him and now he heads to TPC Sawgrass where he has a win, a T11 and no finish worse than T35 in his last four starts. In the middle of the $9K tier, I love him this week to make some noise. Also Consider: Max Homa ($9,900), Collin Morikawa ($9,500), Tony Finau ($9,200)

$8,000: Viktor Hovland ($8,900) – Frankly, Viktor Hovland should be in the $9K range, so I’m jumping all over him at this price. He’s gained at least 5.0 strokes with his ball striking in his last three starts and has improved each week. Now he comes to a place where he was T9 last year while gaining 14+ strokes with ball striking. As long as his short game isn’t a disaster, he’s primed to contend this week. Also Consider: Will Zalatoris ($8,800), Cameron Young ($8,500), Tyrrell Hatton ($8,300), Shane Lowry ($8,200), Jason Day ($8,000)

$7,000: Keegan Bradley ($7,500) – Quietly, Keegan Bradley has been playing some of the best golf in his career as of late. Outside of a missed cut at the Genesis, he has a T2, T10 and T20 in his last four starts. That’s great stuff from him and the numbers track too with Bradley gaining strokes in every category over his last 16 rounds. Now he heads to THE PLAYERS with four straight Top 30 finishes at this tournament, including two Top 10s. I love where he’s at for this event. Also Consider: Tommy Fleetwood ($7,900), Adam Scott ($7,700), Rickie Fowler ($7,500), Keith Mitchell ($7,400), Tom Hoge ($7,400), K.H. Lee ($7,200), Adam Hadwin ($7,100), 

$6,000: Jhonattan Vegas ($6,800) – Could I interest you in a $6K golfer who has three Top 25 finishes and no missed cuts in his last four starts while gaining 1.33 strokes with his ball striking? Welcome to Mr. Jhonny Vegas. His putting has been a problem, but he putts better in Florida and has a past T3 finish at THE PLAYERS. I’m all over him as a cheap add to any lineup. Also Consider: Kurt Kitayama ($6,900), Ryan Fox ($6,700), Brandon Wu ($6,400)

THE PLAYERS Championship DraftKings picks for PGA DFS lineups: Top Fades

$10,000: Xander Schauffele ($10,000) – This truly isn’t a slight on Xander Schauffele. The fact of the matter is, though, that he’s in the $10K range at the very bottom with the unquestioned three best players in the world. Would you pay $10K flat for Schauffele or rather pay $600 more for Scottie Scheffler? That’s Scheffler 99% of the time for me, so I’m not going to be on the X-Man this week.

$9,000: Patrick Cantlay ($9,700) – We could get caught with the hand in the cookie jar here considering that Cantlay has two Top 5 finishes in his last two starts. But he’s missed the cut in his last three trips to THE PLAYERS Championship and hasn’t finished inside the Top 20 in his last five starts here. TPC Sawgrass is a volatile golf course but I’m not buying Cantlay being a good fit at this track.

$8,000: Jordan Spieth ($8,700) – Last week was a live Jordan Spieth week but don’t get fooled by it. The left miss off of the tee is still very much there in a bad way and TPC Sawgrass is arguably the worst course to have that issue at. Spieth’s track record backs that up with one finish better than T40 in seven starts, a run that includes four missed cuts, at THE PLAYERS. This isn’t the week to think that Spieth will spike.

$7,000: Sam Burns ($7,800) – No shot I’m playing Sam Burns in his current form. Over his last 16 rounds, he’s losing 0.98 strokes on approach while also losing slightly with the driver. The only thing that’s been working is a hot putter, but that hasn’t been enough in the last two events with missed cuts coming in. Losing tee-to-green isn’t the recipe to compete at THE PLAYERS, so he’s a full fade for me this week.

THE PLAYERS Championship: Best DraftKings golf lineup

• Rory McIlroy ($11,000)
• Viktor Hovland ($8,900)
• Tyrrell Hatton ($8,300)
• Keegan Bradley ($7,500)
• Keith Mitchell ($7,400)
• Jhonattan Vegas ($6,800)

Give me all of the ball striking and form right now. We’ve already touched on Rory, Hovland, Bradley and Vegas, but more importantly, I’m comfortable skipping the $9K range here. Hovland is a $9K value by my book and Hatton might be too as they’re both underpriced. Give me them in a big way.

As for Hatton, he’s gaining 1.35 strokes ball striking over his last 16 rounds, has two Top 6 finishes in his last three starts, and finished T13 here last year. Love the value for him at this price. With Keith Mitchell, he’s also been striking the hell out of the ball and has finishes to back that up with two Top 5s and three Top 25s in his last four starts. Also finishing T13 at THE PLAYERS last year, this lineup looks phenomenal to me.

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